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That post kind of confirms the DLC was non essential and not exactly in the cut they were aiming for with the base game, however it's well done. Essentially semi-seamless retcon writing I guess.
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The Mass Effect Community Thread
- Thread starter shinobi602
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Yeah, Javik's had a big role in the leaked script because he was meant to interface with the Crucible since the weapon was designed to only activate with a Prothean, thus making him the Catalyst, though the Catalyst we ended up with, i.e. the guy who created the Reapers and lives on the Citadel, was also in the leaked script but under a different name, The Guardian. Javik's role was changed and reduced obviously, most probably due to time constraints, and he was repurposed into DLC, whilst the Guardian took over Javik's role as the Catalyst in the final game.
I've been reading ME3: The Final Hours (by Geoff Keighley), and it covers that. Very interesting read (it's available on Origin and the ios/android stores). Basically, Javik was an essential part of the story but he had to be cut out to avoid another delay. So there were rewrites around that and the dev team was absolutely crushed at that time, morale seemed to be reaaally down. They absolutely didn't want it to be a DLC. The exclusion of Javik in the base game and the leaked alpha demo seemed to be awful times for the team. I encourage people to read The Final Hours because it's really well done, well written, and you can't help but feel sympathetic for the people that made ME3, even if you don't like the game. It reminds you, if need be, that real people, deeply involved emotionaly worked on it non-stop. The reception of the game must have been devastating, I'm genuinely impressed that they had the energy to make such cool DLC after the release (Citadel is one of my favorite parts of the whole trilogy). Also, in The Final Hours you get cool informations about the early concepts of the first ME. Like, Batarians were some sort of bat-like swarm aliens, hence the name...
Anyway, I think the first release date they announced for ME3 was way too close...
It's a shame the lesson had to be learned this way, but since then (and with a new CEO) EA has been content to give BioWare as much time as they need. Shit, an extra year+ in delays for DAI, and it'll be 5 years since ME3 by the time Andromeda comes out.
I mean part of that involves massive expanding in general. The number of projects that have in the pipeline dwarf what they had before they have little reason to not offer delays. Not to mention the new Bio IPs cooking too.
I think it's part of a general move to see EA's studios as one big diversified studio. I mean, part of the reason they greenlit Mirror's Edge Catalyst, probably knowing it wouldn't sell well, was the experience Dice gained as a studio making it. Similarly, everything new that one studio does gets passed along. So Need For Speed team helps out on the Mako, for example, and BioWare helped craft Fifa's story-mode trailer. It kinda makes sense in that regard.
We're quadrepeds even something Frostbite could do pre-Inquisition? Iirc they had to add the ability to have these things in for DAI too.
Yep (as in, yep they had to add it). DAI sounded like quite the struggle.
Tenacious-D
Member
The Origin version of ME1 has Pinnacle Station and Bring Down the Sky included by default. Nice! First time that I'll be able to play Bring Down the Sky then.
If you have the game on Steam, copy your key code and paste it into Origin. Or if you have a physical copy like I did, just contact EA support and they'll give you a key after sending some pics of the disks and a timestamp. Did the same thing for ME2, and they gave me the digital deluxe version, even though I only had the normal version on disk.
Origin is also very stable for me, although your mileage may vary.
If you have the game on Steam, copy your key code and paste it into Origin. Or if you have a physical copy like I did, just contact EA support and they'll give you a key after sending some pics of the disks and a timestamp. Did the same thing for ME2, and they gave me the digital deluxe version, even though I only had the normal version on disk.
Origin is also very stable for me, although your mileage may vary.
Tenacious-D
Member
Damn, ME1 + MEUITM + 4xSGSSAA + 4xMSAA = ME1 Remastered. 
The game looks great. Super clean with that AA as well. The MEUITM mod also fixes most of the blocky shadows, which is nice.
Maybe someone here has experience. These Nvidia Inspector settings are the correct ones for ME1, right?
Antialiasing Compatibility set to 0x080000C1
Antialiasing Mode set to Overide
Antialiasing Setting set to 4x Multisampling
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling
The game looks great. Super clean with that AA as well. The MEUITM mod also fixes most of the blocky shadows, which is nice.
Maybe someone here has experience. These Nvidia Inspector settings are the correct ones for ME1, right?
Antialiasing Compatibility set to 0x080000C1
Antialiasing Mode set to Overide
Antialiasing Setting set to 4x Multisampling
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling
DOWN
Banned
The Casey Hudson Citadel demo for ME1 from E3 2006 set the tone for the first game so well. It's also one of the best demo reels I've seen, considering how innovative the dialogue was. Anyone else think of this when they saw the Andromeda trailer this year featuring the clean developer commentary at the start?
Mass Effect E3 2006 Demo Trailer "A bright universe with a dark secret. A spectacular new vision of the future."
https://youtu.be/3Li2MIGxOww
Mass Effect Andromeda 2016 Trailer
https://youtu.be/y2vgHOXeps0
Mass Effect E3 2006 Demo Trailer "A bright universe with a dark secret. A spectacular new vision of the future."
https://youtu.be/3Li2MIGxOww
Mass Effect Andromeda 2016 Trailer
https://youtu.be/y2vgHOXeps0
VenomousCoffee
Member
"The machines are about to come back!"
You can't guess what that line really means before playing the game, but that's still a key line to use as what's just filler dialogue for the trailer. Weird choice.
You can't guess what that line really means before playing the game, but that's still a key line to use as what's just filler dialogue for the trailer. Weird choice.
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Banned
Heckler456
Banned
Man, fucking sucks that I'm already genuinely looking forward to this game. This wait's gonna kill me.
Barrow Roll
Member
You're golden. Don't forget that you can add HBAO+ to some older titles with Nvidia Inspector as well. I'm on mobile atm so I'll just link you to this thread.Damn, ME1 + MEUITM + 4xSGSSAA + 4xMSAA = ME1 Remastered.
The game looks great. Super clean with that AA as well. The MEUITM mod also fixes most of the blocky shadows, which is nice.
Maybe someone here has experience. These Nvidia Inspector settings are the correct ones for ME1, right?
Antialiasing Compatibility set to 0x080000C1
Antialiasing Mode set to Overide
Antialiasing Setting set to 4x Multisampling
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling
http://www.forum-3dcenter.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=556672
VenomousCoffee
Member
That Andromeda art is just so beautiful.
DOWN
Banned
Cross post from the E3 Andromeda thread
Maybe some clarifications and such from this Glixel interview:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture...-effect-andromeda-game-true-to-roots-20160620
Maybe some clarifications and such from this Glixel interview:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture...-effect-andromeda-game-true-to-roots-20160620
Yes and no. He reiterated the moment to moment combat is still a TPS, leveling, powers, upgrades, etc would still be like an RPG.
I do everything, but I'm also a bit OCD and crazy when it comes to games I enjoy.
I do everything.
Well, i'll skip the artifacts/minerals sidequests in ME1 because I want to keep my sanity, but yes, I do (almost) everything.
DOWN
Banned
Yeah I'm referring to story/dialogue side quests, not the minerals.
I'd like to install one or two mods for ME1 to improve the graphics a bit. Is MEUITM the best one ?
The Asari on the screenshot seems... I don't know, "overdone" to me:
edit:
Alright, that seems good. 4xSGSSAA and 4xMSAA are options included in the mod or is it something else ? (sorry I'm new to PC gaming)
The Asari on the screenshot seems... I don't know, "overdone" to me:
Maybe I'll find it better in game, I have trouble judging when it's not moving
edit:
Damn, ME1 + MEUITM + 4xSGSSAA + 4xMSAA = ME1 Remastered.
The game looks great. Super clean with that AA as well. The MEUITM mod also fixes most of the blocky shadows, which is nice.
Maybe someone here has experience. These Nvidia Inspector settings are the correct ones for ME1, right?
Antialiasing Compatibility set to 0x080000C1
Antialiasing Mode set to Overide
Antialiasing Setting set to 4x Multisampling
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling
Alright, that seems good. 4xSGSSAA and 4xMSAA are options included in the mod or is it something else ? (sorry I'm new to PC gaming
)I was actually happy to see the distancing from the RPG moniker. Mass Effect is at its best when it's doing its own thing. Including unnecessary baggage won't make it a better game.
I want robust dialogue options that impact the story, diverse weapon mod choices without inventory clutter and expansive environments that encourage exploration. Feeling compelled to explore because random items are buried out there is an RPG trope I could do without. Feeling compelled to explore because tear-assing through a barren world in the Mako is fun is something I can get behind.
*The book has likely been delayed to reflect the game's new release date.
That star system is a mess -_-
Barrow Roll
Member
MEUITM is really the only comprehensive texture mod for ME1 out there. I personally think it looks great.I'd like to install one or two mods for ME1 to improve the graphics a bit. Is MEUITM the best one ?
The Asari on the screenshot seems... I don't know, "overdone" to me:
Maybe I'll find it better in game, I have trouble judging when it's not moving
edit:
Alright, that seems good. 4xSGSSAA and 4xMSAA are options included in the mod or is it something else ? (sorry I'm new to PC gaming
SGSSAA is a form of anti-aliasing that can be forced in many games on Nvidia GPUs. You will need Nvidia Inspector before you can get started.
BoobPhysics101 (RIP) wrote an excellent guide that helped me get started with SGSSAA years ago. It's a little outdated, but I still suggest you read it thoroughly.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=33974105&postcount=83
Two things that aren't covered in that guide:
1. Right below the entry for 'Antialiasing Compatibility,' you will find an entry named 'Antialiasing fix' in current versions of Nvidia Inspector. Make this is set to 'On."
2. You know longer need to mess with the LOD Bias settings. Current versions of Nvidia Inspector have a setting named 'Texture filtering - Driver Controlled LOD Bias.' Make sure this is set to 'On' and you're good.
Once you understand how to setup SGSSAA, you will need the correct compatibility bits if your game does not have in-game support for MSAA (such as the Mass Effect games). You can find those, and so much more, here:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=392715
So what should everything look like when that's all said and done?
You might notice that I also have HBAO+ enabled, a form of ambient occlusion. You can do the same for a lot games by entering the correct compatibility bits under 'Ambient Occlusion compatibility,' setting 'Ambient Occlusion setting' to 'Quality,' and setting 'Ambient Occlusion usage' to 'Enabled.' The same resource I linked above will have HBAO+ compatibility bits for many games.
Good luck!
100 percent, every time, and that includes all marked collection quests.
Having played ME1 so many times I can pretty much remember where most the minerals are when I land. I do occasionally look the planet map up, because I figure I've done the work in the past.
Alright, everything works, thanks again !
The only thing I changed is the setting for Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling. If I put the same setting as you, it hits the framerate, so instead of 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling, I just put 8x Supersampling. I don't know if it makes a significant difference.
Okay, time so spend the night on Mass Effect.
My GF is gonna be thrilled to see how good it looks
I do as much as I can the first time but I usually end up missing at least a couple things that I get when I go through again.
Barrow Roll
Member
If 4x SGSSAA is too demanding, drop it down to 2x along with MSAA down to 2x. Remember, for SGSSAA to properly work, you must match the MSAA setting with the SGSSAA setting. The results will likely still be better than what you're currently using, 4x MSAA and 8x TRSSAA. MSAA will only handle aliasing on polygonal edges. Character and world geometry will be nice and smooth, but there are many other types of aliasing that it won't have any effect on. Transparency Supersampling, or TRSSAA, is used to handle a very specific type of aliasing. Instead of fumbling my words, I'll just quote TweakGuides:Alright, everything works, thanks again !
The only thing I changed is the setting for Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling. If I put the same setting as you, it hits the framerate, so instead of 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling, I just put 8x Supersampling. I don't know if it makes a significant difference.
Okay, time so spend the night on Mass Effect.
My GF is gonna be thrilled to see how good it looks
You can read more about TRSSAA and how to properly use it over here. In fact, I highly recommend reading that whole guide if you're new to PC gaming and the Nvidia Control Panel. It's a lot of information to take in, but it's immensely helpful.
The advantage that SGSSAA has over just using both MSAA and TRSSAA in tandem, is that it affects ALL types of aliasing. You will see a severe reduction in shimmering and stair stepping of all types. You will still see some aliasing with 2x vs 4x, but trust me, the image quality is still going to be far superior than what you're using right now, especially in motion.
Here's a screenshot of ME3 I took back in 2012 with 2x SGSSAA when I was still using a GTX 560 ti. It still looks great.
Edit: Talking about SGSSAA makes me sad because I love it and I don't want to give it up, but Nvidia's pricing on their new GPUs is out of control right now, especially outside the US. AMD folks, what are the options for getting great image quality like SGSSAA? I've really been itching to move on from my 4GB GTX 770, and AMD's offerings along with just generally not doing shitty things like Nvidia are making me consider switching. Eagerly awaiting those RX 480 benchmarks. Maybe Nvidia will launch an amazing and affordable GTX 1060 in a few months to strike back at AMD?
Depends, for ME3 specifically, I run the game at 4k with SMAA and downsample.
Barrow Roll
Member
What card are you using, and how's the performance? Do you use VSR or do you need to setup custom resolutions? Is SMAA supported at the driver level or does it need to be injected?
I use GEDOSATO on my AMD 7970 machine and my 970 box. You can choose render, display resolutions, and SMAA.
Thanks, I'll keep the link bookmarked, one of the reasons I quit console gaming is because I hate aliasing, so... yeah, it's gonna be helpful !
And it works, I dropped both to 2x and I've got no fps issues. It's beautiful
xclaw
Member
Ahhh, why can't PS3 and PC ever get this...... buy buy buy 360ers!
it was last month >.>
Handsome Jack is going to be the main antagonist.
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Marvel crossover confirmed.
I have question about the Mass Effect 4 plot.
Do we know when Andromeda actually takes place?
I mean its confirmed that they find the arks but de we know when?
I think there was a thread that summed up what we know but I cant seem to find it.
(is that hyperion thing real? lol)
Do we know when Andromeda actually takes place?
I mean its confirmed that they find the arks but de we know when?
I think there was a thread that summed up what we know but I cant seem to find it.
(is that hyperion thing real? lol)
The start of the game is no doubt set between ME2 and ME3, I wouldn't be surprised if they are all sent off just as the Reapers pop up. I'm pretty sure in one of the videos, and going by some interviews, they mention they have been asleep for hundreds of years when they reach Andromeda.
Is this the thread you meant?
The Artisan
Member
Eid Mubarek! I got my celebration for after work here, if ya see what I did there ...
...
Tenacious-D
Member
Something interesting I notcied when watching the ME2 documentary included with the Origin version.
Originally, the ammo counter was on the gun itself, similar to dead space, and it seems that the overheat mechanic was still included.
Originally, the ammo counter was on the gun itself, similar to dead space, and it seems that the overheat mechanic was still included.
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